A York man has been convicted of manslaughter in the death of an Aurora, Nebraska elementary school teacher who graduated from Bayard High School.

31-year-old Lauren Akerson, a 2000 graduate of Bayard High School, was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit last November. Officers said Otis Newcomb of York was drunk. Court records indicate his blood alcohol level was .113, well over the legal limit.

NTV News in Kearney reports that on Tuesday in York County District Court, Newcomb agreed to plead no contest to felony manslaughter.

The victim’s family approved of the agreement, saying they didn’t want to endure what could be a painful trial for them.

Newcomb will be sentenced in August, and could get up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities say the van Newcomb was driving last Nov. 2 crossed the center line on U.S. Highway 34 about two miles west of York, striking another vehicle carry Akerson.

The second-grade teacher died as a result of the injuries she sustained in the crash.